Impressive cast lined up for The Secret Agent

Produced by Line of Duty's World Productions for BBC One, Jones will play Verloc, whose seedy Soho shop hides his role as an agent of the Russian Embassy, spying on a group of London anarchists. Furious that Britain tolerates violent extremists, the Russians want Verloc to provoke a bomb outrage that will trigger a government crackdown. Caught between the Russians and the British police, Verloc drags his unsuspecting family into a tragic terror plot.

Toby commented: “I am both excited and intrigued by the challenge of playing Verloc the eponymous hero of Conrad’s startlingly relevant novel The Secret Agent”.

The stellar cast includes Vicky McClure (Line of Duty, This Is England) as Verloc’s previously loyal wife, Winnie, Stephen Graham (Pirates of the Caribbean, Boardwalk Empire,This Is England) as Verloc’s adversary Chief Inspector Heat, and Ian Hart (Boardwalk Empire, The Driver) as the dangerously unpredictable Professor.

Vicky said: “I'm so excited to play the part of Winnie. It's an incredible script. And delighted to work with Toby Jones, I've always been a huge fan of his”.

Stephen added: “I am really excited to be a part of this project with some fantastic actors and an amazing director.”

The Secret Agent is executive produced for World Productions by Simon Heath (Line of Duty, The Great Train Robbery, United) and by Polly Hill for BBC One, and produced by Priscilla Parish (Code of A Killer). The drama was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, Controller BBC One and Ben Stephenson, Former Controller BBC Drama Commissioning.

Executive producer, Simon Heath said “It’s a privilege to be working with such a terrific cast to bring to life Tony's brilliant adaptation”.

Writer, Tony Marchant added "I can't think of any actors better suited to delivering the modernity and authenticity of Conrad's work to the screen".